Ed Dubinsky - Böcker

Most students in abstract algebra classes have great difficulty making sense of what the instructor is saying. Moreover, this seems to remain true almost independently of the quality of the lecture. This book is based on the constructivist belief that, before students can make sense of any presentation of abstract mathematics, they need to be engaged in mental activities which will establish an experiential base for any future verbal explanation. No less, they need to have the opportunity to reflect on their activities. This approach is based on extensive theoretical and empirical studies as well as on the substantial experience of the authors in teaching astract algebra. The main source of activities in this course is computer constructions, specifically, small programs written in the mathlike programming language ISETL; the main tool for reflections is work in teams of 2-4 students, where the activities are discussed and debated. Because of the similarity of ISETL expressions to standard written mathematics, there is very little programming overhead: learning to program is inseparable from learning the mathematics. Each topic is first introduced through computer activities, which are then followed by a text section and exercises. This text section is written in an informed, discusive style, closely relating definitions and proofs to the constructions in the activities. Notions such as cosets and quotient groups become much more meaningful to the students than when they are preseted in a lecture.

Intended for first- or second-year undergraduates, this introduction to discrete mathematics covers the usual topics of such a course, but applies constructivist principles that promote - indeed, require - active participation by the student. Working with the programming language ISETL, whose syntax is close to that of standard mathematical language, the student constructs the concepts in her or his mind as a result of constructing them on the computer in the syntax of ISETL. This dramatically different approach allows students to attempt to discover concepts in a "Socratic" dialog with the computer. The discussion avoids the formal "definition-theorem" approach and promotes active involvement by the reader by its questioning style. An instructor using this text can expect a lively class whose students develop a deep conceptual understanding rather than simply manipulative skills. Topics covered in this book include: the propositional calculus, operations on sets, basic counting methods, predicate calculus, relations, graphs, functions, and mathematical induction.

This fourth volume of ""Research in Collegiate Mathematics Education"" (""RCME IV"") reflects the themes of student learning and calculus. Included are overviews of calculus reform in France and in the U.S. and large-scale and small-scale longitudinal comparisons of students enrolled in first-year reform courses and in traditional courses. The work continues with detailed studies relating students' understanding of calculus and associated topics. Direct focus is then placed on instruction and student comprehension of courses other than calculus, namely abstract algebra and number theory. The volume concludes with a study of a concept that overlaps the areas of focus, quantifiers. The book clearly reflects the trend towards a growing community of researchers who systematically gather and distill data regarding collegiate mathematics' teaching and learning.

Most students in abstract algebra classes have great difficulty making sense of what the instructor is saying. Moreover, this seems to remain true almost independently of the quality of the lecture. This book is based on the constructivist belief that, before students can make sense of any presentation of abstract mathematics, they need to be engaged in mental activities which will establish an experiential base for any future verbal explanation. No less, they need to have the opportunity to reflect on their activities. This approach is based on extensive theoretical and empirical studies as well as on the substantial experience of the authors in teaching astract algebra. The main source of activities in this course is computer constructions, specifically, small programs written in the mathlike programming language ISETL; the main tool for reflections is work in teams of 2-4 students, where the activities are discussed and debated. Because of the similarity of ISETL expressions to standard written mathematics, there is very little programming overhead: learning to program is inseparable from learning the mathematics. Each topic is first introduced through computer activities, which are then followed by a text section and exercises. This text section is written in an informed, discusive style, closely relating definitions and proofs to the constructions in the activities. Notions such as cosets and quotient groups become much more meaningful to the students than when they are preseted in a lecture.

This book is based on the belief that, before students can make sense of any presentation of abstract mathematics, they need to be engaged in mental activities that will establish an experiential base for any future verbal explanations and to have the opportunity to reflect on their activities. This approach is based on extensive theoretical and empirical studies, as well as on the substantial experience of the authors in teaching Abstract Algebra. The main source of activities in this course is computer constructions, specifically, small programs written in the math-like programming language ISETL; the main tool for reflection is work in teams of two to four students, where the activities are discussed and debated. Because of the similarity of ISETL expressions to standard written mathematics, there is very little programming overhead: learning to program is inseparable from learning the mathematics. Each topic is first introduced through computer activities, which are then followed by a text section and exercises. The text section is written in an informal, discursive style, closely relating definitions and proofs to the constructions in the activities. Notions such as cosets and quotient groups become much more meaningful to the students than when they are presented in a lecture.

Intended for first- or second-year undergraduates, this introduction to discrete mathematics covers the usual topics of such a course, but applies constructivist principles that promote - indeed, require - active participation by the student. Working with the programming language ISETL, whose syntax is close to that of standard mathematical language, the student constructs the concepts in her or his mind as a result of constructing them on the computer in the syntax of ISETL. This dramatically different approach allows students to attempt to discover concepts in a "Socratic" dialog with the computer. The discussion avoids the formal "definition-theorem" approach and promotes active involvement by the reader by its questioning style. An instructor using this text can expect a lively class whose students develop a deep conceptual understanding rather than simply manipulative skills. Topics covered in this book include: the propositional calculus, operations on sets, basic counting methods, predicate calculus, relations, graphs, functions, and mathematical induction.

It should be useful for researchers who work with, or would like to learn more about, this theoretical approach, people who are interested in the way which mathematical conceptions are constructed according to this theory, Mathematics Education researchers, graduate students in Mathematics Education, and Mathematics instructors.

It should be useful for researchers who work with, or would like to learn more about, this theoretical approach, people who are interested in the way which mathematical conceptions are constructed according to this theory, Mathematics Education researchers, graduate students in Mathematics Education, and Mathematics instructors.